GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

Release Year: 1985

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Helen Hunt, Shannen Doherty, Lee Montgomery, Jonathan Silverman

Before So You Think You Can Dance, America's Best Dance Crew, and Live to Dance, there was Dance TV, the show that born dancer and Army Brat Janey Glenn (Sarah Jessica Parker) will do anything to appear on.  When she meets fellow Catholic school girl kooky Lynne Stone (Helen Hunt), nothing will stop them from going to downtown Chicago to audition for the show (even Janey’s father’s strict rules).

Complications ensue (of course): Janey makes the cut, Lynne does not, and Janey meets natural dancer Jeff, who butts heads with Janey initially over dancing styles, but the two naturally fall for each other in the end.

GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN is basically a mash-up of Footloose, Flashdance, and a precursor to Hairspray.  And that’s NOT a bad thing.  It is a charming film with earnest performances from its leads, and good supporting work from Helen Hunt and T.V. actor Jonathan Silverman (what the heck ever happened to him?), and even Shannen Doherty, who steals some of the scenes that she’s in. There are the requisite “competition movie” clichés, such as the evil, rich bit@# who tries to use daddy’s money to win, the stern, uncompromising father who changes in the end (Janey’s dad, played by the great Ed Lauter) and the enlightened, supportive father (Jeff’s dad, played by Tim Burton regular, the fantastic Biff Yeager).

Famous KROQ DJ Richard Blade has extended cameo in the film, and its soundtrack contains the New Wave dance classic Dancing in Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop) by One-Hit Wonders,Q-Feel and a decent version of Martha and the Vandellas’ Dancing in the Street by Animotion (Obsession).


Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. - Proverbs 4:23